REIGN OF ROTHSCHILDS - 6. Rothschilds Before and During the Revolution of 1848: Finance and Politics in the 1848 Crisis - SECRETS OF POWER: Masters of Politics, Strategy & War

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter six. The Rothchilds before and during the Revolution of
eighteen forty eight. While the Wrothchilds were engaged in these
great financial and political questions, their command of money and
their increasing social prestige brought them into touch with the
great men of the day in painting, literature, and music.
This was especially so in Paris, whether the most remarkable

(00:21):
spirits of the time were attracted from abroad by the
relative freedom of the press and the censorship. The great
Italian Rossini had given up his home in Italy and
then left Vienna for the city on the Seine. He
had made the acquaintance of the Rothschilds as early as
the Congress of Verona, and he was a frequent visitor
at James's house, being invited to the intimate family circle

(00:43):
as well as to the banker's splendid receptions. If an artist,
in addition to being famous, was also of Jewish origin,
he was particularly welcome at the house of Rothschild in Paris.
Meyerbeer was amongst those who were actively assisted and cordially
welcomed to the July Revolution and the severe measures which
Mettenich thereupon applied in Germany and Prussia against all liberal tendencies.

(01:07):
A number of refugees from political oppression and the censorship
came to Paris. Amongst them was Heinrich Heine, whose great
ambition at the time was to become a protagonist of
popular rights and to rise against the censors of thought
and the oppressors of the most sacred rights of humanity.
He felt himself to be a son of the revolution,
broke all links with Germany and took up his permanent

(01:28):
residence in Paris. On the May first, eighteen thirty one,
Ludwig Borne, a relation of Heine of similar views, but
who later became bitterly hostile to him, left Germany for Paris.
At the same time. Heine soon succeeded in arousing great
interest in Paris, a portion of his harzrise appearing in
the Review de due Momes, and two other books of

(01:49):
his being published in French translations. His fame grew until
he was treated on equal terms as a poet of
the first rank by the most famous of the great
men in Paris. As a character, he was less admired,
owing to his eccentric, paradoxical and unbalanced nature. The diplomats
in Metinic service were constantly engaged in smelling out revolutionaries

(02:12):
regarded him as a complete outcast. A report written from
this prejudiced point of view calls Heine, on account of
his unreliability, a moral and political chameleon, saying that he
had no opinions of his own, and might affect constitutional
opinions to day, whereas tomorrow he will, with equal skill,
plead the cause of absolutism or of radicalism. Louis of

(02:35):
a cowardly nature, this bitter report continued, a liar and
a man who would be disloyal to his best friend.
Changeable as a cocotte, he is utterly unsteadfast, spiteful as
a serpent. He has all the beauty and glitter of
that creature and all its poison, without any really noble
or genuine instincts. He is incapable of a sincere emotion.

(02:56):
His vanity is such that he would like to play
a conspicuous role, but he has played out his part.
He is no longer taken seriously, though his talents remain.
It was only natural that Heinah should soon make the
acquaintance of James Rothschild, especially as Heina's father had known
the Rothchild's well the latter being constantly associated with the
House in financial matters. It was therefore easy for Heinah

(03:20):
to establish relations with the House, whereas Bourne remained aloof
having always been in opposition to the Rothchilds. In his
seventy second letter, sent from Paris on the January twenty second,
eighteen thirty two, Bourne expressed himself in no measured terms
about the banking firm. In that letter, he made play
with the relations between Rothschild and the Pope, saying that

(03:41):
Louis Philippe would be crowned in Paris in Notre Dame
de Lauborse, with Rothchild functioning as archbishop. He imagined a
turtle dove flying to Saint Helena, perching on Napoleon's grave
and laughingly narrating that it had yesterday seen his successor
crowned not by the Pope but by a jew With
biting irony. Born suggested that it might be to the

(04:02):
greatest benefit of the world if the Kings were got
rid of and the Rothchild family were set upon the throne.
Such a dynasty would never have recourse to a loan,
for they would have the best reason to know how
dearly such loans would have to be paid for. Moreover,
peace would be assured, since the Rothchilds would be on
the most excellent terms with the House of Habsburg. Born

(04:24):
next proceeded to show how dearly Austria had had to
pay for their friendship. True, no rothchild yet occupied a throne,
but when a throne became vacant, they were asked to
advise as to who should occupy it. It was more
bitter that all the crowns should be at the feet
of the Rothchilds than that they should be wearing them
on their heads, for in the latter case they would
at any rate have to shoulder the responsibility of kingship.

(04:47):
The majority of the European peoples, Borne suggested, would long
ago have attained their freedom had not the Rothchilds and
other financiers applied their wealth to the support of absolutism. Bitterly,
Born described the loan operations of the Rothschilds, showing how
they would depress Roant just before underwriting alone, and then
artificially raised the price immediately after the agreement for the

(05:09):
new loan had been signed. Such was the game that
the Rothchilds always played to enrich themselves at the expense
of the country that they exploited. In such circumstances, there
was naturally no room for born in James's house. Heinah
too occasionally turned his biting satire on the house of Rothschild,

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but he would also often write favorably about them, although
not without having occasion to be grateful to James for
services of a financial nature. The Great Baron not only
frequently invited him to a family meal in the private
rooms of his office, but also, as Heinah himself tells us,
invited him to take part in almost all of his
more important transactions, often quite spontaneously. Nevertheless, Heinah was invariably

(05:55):
short of money, which always melted through his fingers, and
against Rothschild's advice, he embarked on other speculations which involved
him in serious loss. He did not receive regular remittances
from Rothschild, but would often give him to understand that
he was in need of this or that, whereupon James,
who admired his genius and feared his pen would send

(06:15):
him something under the ingenious pretext that heina had made
a profit in a share transaction. Sometimes he would deliberately
ignore the disguised request and this would produce ill feeling.
When the money was not forthcoming, Heinah would ponder more
deeply on the part played in the world by rothschild
He would come to see him as one of the
greatest revolutionaries, a founder of modern democracy. Richelieu had undermined

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the sovereignty of the feudal nobility when it had become
lazy and degenerate. Robespierre had completed its destruction, but the
private ownership of land had survived, and property owners had
merely usurped the pretensions of the old nobility under a
new guise. Thereupon, the Rothschilds had arrived, having abolished the
dominion of land ownership by cree ciating the system of

(07:00):
state bonds as the greatest power and investing money which
any one could possess at any place with the prerogatives
that land had previously enjoyed. Heinah evolved these ideas after
a conversation with James that nero of finance, who has
built himself a golden palace in the rule of fit
as he strolled with him arm in arm through the
streets of Paris in a quite familionary way. As Karl

(07:23):
Krauss wittily remarked, Heinah held that James was the man
in whom, since the death of his distinguished brother in England,
all the political significance of the House of Rothschild was concentrated.
Heinah particularly admired James's ability in discovering any persons of talent,
even in provinces quite foreign to him, where he was
not qualified to form a judgment for his gifts. In

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this direction, heina wrote, he has been compared with Louis
the fourteenth, and he certainly contrast to his colleagues here,
who like to surround themselves with a general staff of mediocrity.
James Vaughan Rothschild may always be seen in intimate association
with the notabilities of every walk of life. He might
be entirely unversed in a subject, but he always knew

(08:07):
who was the best man in it. He probably does
not understand a single note of music, but Rossini has
always been an intimate family friend. Ariy Sheffer is his
court painter, Kareem was his cook. Her. Vaughan Rothchild certainly
knows as little Greek as Demoiselle Rachel. But Latron is
the scholar whom he most values. The brilliant Dupatrin was

(08:29):
his physician, and between the two there was the most
brotherly affection. Her Vaughan Rothschild was one of the first
to perceive the worth of Crimus, the great and noble
hearted lawyer, who became his loyal advocate. Similarly, he at
once appreciated Lewis Philippe's political capacity, and he was always
on the most confidential terms with that great master of

(08:49):
state craft. Her Vaughan Rothschild alone discovered Emil Perreier, the
Pontifect's Maximus of railways, and he immediately made him his
chief engineer, and trusting to him the construction of the
railway to Versailles on the right bank of the Seine,
on which there has never been an accident. Poetry alone,
that of France, as well as of Germany, is represented

(09:10):
by no living genius. In the favor of her Von Rothschild.
He loves only Shakespeare, rarecieing Gerda, dead poets all and
disembodied spirits, remote from all earthly financial cares. This was
a gentle hint that Rothschild might do more for living
German poets, including Heine Heinah gave recognition where it was due,

(09:31):
although he was frequently ironical at James's expense and reproached
him for his meanness and avarice. The outbreak of cholera
in Paris in eighteen thirty two produced a real panic.
There was a rumor current in a capital that the
disease was produced by certain mixers of poisons, who poisoned
the people with a white powder. Two hapless persons who

(09:52):
had bought a white cough powder at a chemist's and
were quietly walking out of the shop with it, were
torn in pieces by a crowd, which collected in an
instant on an old woman shouting, there are the murderers
and poisoners. Their bloody remains were carried in triumph through
the streets, the crowd shouting vollat elsie colera morbus. People
died in tens of thousands, and Paris was anything but gay.

(10:16):
Those who could and who had the money fled the city.
Heinah tells us that one hundred and twenty thousand passports
were issued at the mary. The people complained bitterly, he states,
when they saw rich folk fleeing the city and making
for the healthier districts, accompanied by doctors and bottles. The
poor man noticed that money was a protection even against death.

(10:39):
The majority of the just amiliu and of high finance
have also left and are living in their country houses.
The representatives of wealth par excellence, the Heron Vaughan Rothschild,
have however, remained quietly in Paris, thereby demonstrating that it
is not only in finance that they are courageous and magnificent.
According to Heina's mood and finances, such praise would alternate

(11:02):
with ironical remarks referring to Roth's Child's meanness. Heina can
scarcely have been thinking of himself when he wrote in
gadenkin U n d iin Fallen, the main army of
Rothschild's enemies is made up of the Havenahts. They all
say to themselves what we have not Rothschild has. As
soon as a man's money is gone, he becomes Roth's
Child's enemy. This was certainly true of Heinah himself. He was, however,

(11:28):
impressed by the splendor and wealth of the envied bankers.
For the Beaumont of Paris. He wrote on the March first,
eighteen thirty six, yesterday was a remarkable day. We had
the first performance of Meyerbeer's long awaited Huguenots at the Opera,
followed by Rothschild's first ball in his new house. As
I did not leave until four o'clock this morning, and

(11:49):
have not been asleep yet, I am too tired to
give you an account of the scene of this festival
and of the magnificent new palace, built entirely in the
style of the Renaissance, in which the guests wander expl
pressing their admiration and astonishment. As at all Rothschild's receptions,
the guests were chosen strictly for their social rank, the
men being distinguished for their great aristocratic names or position,

(12:11):
the women for their beauty and elegance. As for the
palace itself and its decorations, it unites everything which the
spirit of the sixteenth century could conceive and the money
of the nineteenth century can pay for. In it, the
genius of art competes with the genius of Rothchild. Two
years have been spent in constant work on this palace
and its decorations, and the sums that have been expended

(12:34):
are said to be enormous. Her Vaughan Rothschild smiles when
he is asked it is the Versailles of a financial potentate,
one is forced to admire the taste no less than
the lavishness of the execution. M De Poncho has been
responsible for the decorations, and everything bears witness to his
good taste. The whole and each individual part also is

(12:58):
expressive of the fine artistics. See the Lady of the house,
who is not merely one of the prettiest women in Paris,
but is also distinguished for intelligence and knowledge, and practices
painting with much success. This last remark was not a
mere phrase, but expressed Highna's sincere feelings, for although he
had little use for James Rothschild as a human being,

(13:19):
he was very much under the influence of his charming
and accomplished wife, the daughter of Solomon at Vienna. She
showed intelligent appreciation of Higna's poetry, which did not make
the same appeal to her husband. She constantly expressed her
admiration for Heinah's work, and by flattering the poet's vanity,
increased his devotion to her, and she was not entirely

(13:40):
displeased when Heinah ventured to suggest that such a rare
soul should not be married to a dull calculating machine.
The poet constantly, indeed regularly sent her his works, not
accepting those which made fun of her husband, and counted
on obliterating any unfavorable impression by a casual expression of apology.
Heinah well knew what he was about when he emphasized

(14:01):
the contrast in the characters of the husband and wife.
Baroness Betty constantly invited him, and on such occasions he
was able to put forward requests and to ask for
favors for friends such as Ludwig Marcus, who was living
at that time in dire poverty. Baroness Betty would plead
Highna's cause with her husband and would also help personally,
and Heinah would express his gratitude in one of his

(14:23):
next writings, in which he would speak of the angelic
help of a beautiful woman, the wife of one of
the richest bankers in the world, who is justly famous
for her wit and her knowledge. Later, when he lay
ill in his attic, he actually wrote to Frau Betty,
as I lie cut off from the world, the picture
of you often comforts and cheers me. It is one
of the most treasured works in the gallery of my memory.

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Since his first meeting with the Baroness at Bologne sur
Mayor in September eighteen thirty three, Heinah had always felt
in complete sympathy with her. His gratitude for many a
kindness and his admiration for Betty as a woman and
a lady found poetical expression in the poem to which
he gave the name The Angel. It was in the
years eighteen thirty five and eighteen thirty six that Heina

(15:09):
spent most time at Rothschild's house. Grill Partser met him
there when, during a short visit to Paris, he was
dining at James Rothschild's, Rossini being also present. Much as
I had liked Heina when I was alone with him,
grill Partser wrote, I did not like him at all.
A few days later, when we were dining at the Rothschilds,

(15:29):
it was apparent that his hosts were afraid of Heina,
and he exploited their fear by slyly poking fun at
them at every opportunity. But it is not admissible to
dine with people whom you don't care for. If you
despise a person, you should not dine with him in
point of fact, our acquaintance did not progress after this.
About this time Heina was actually considering the question of

(15:52):
dealing with the history of the origin and development of
the House of Rothschild, but the recurrent tension in his
relations with the house since eighteen thirty seven and probably
caused him to give up the idea. In spite of
such occasional help as he received, Heina's financial affairs were
in constant confusion, and James Rothschild refused to intervene in
Higa's pecuniary wrangles with his rich uncle Solomon Heina. James

(16:15):
had for a long time had intimate financial dealings with
that banker, and may well have suffered a rebuff on
trying to say a good word for Heinah. He did
not feel inclined to introduce an unpleasant clement into his
relations with a business friend by unduly pressing the point.
Various lucrative dealings, including a participation in profits on the
issue of capital for the Northern Railway of France, seemed

(16:38):
to have assisted in producing a more genial atmosphere between
Heinah and James, and at this time Heinah quite unexpectedly
found an opportunity of making himself useful to the House
of Rothschild. In eighteen forty three, Heina's publisher, Camp, had
received from a certain Friedrich Steinman of Munster a manuscript
entitled The House of Rothschild, Its History and its Transaction.

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The book dealt with the house in a spiteful and
hostile way. Camp paid the author the fee which he asked,
and happened to mention the matter to Heinah. Heinah asked
to see the manuscript, and Camp postponed printing it, giving
it to Heinah to take to Paris in order that
he might discuss the matter with Rothchild. In a letter
dated December twenty ninth, eighteen forty three, Heina wrote to

(17:23):
Camp saying, I confess I should be glad of an
opportunity of requiting the great kindness that Rothschild has shown
me for twelve years, I e. Ever since he came
to Paris, if I have an opportunity for doing so
in an honest manner. The pamphlet remained for the time
being at Heina's house and was not published until eighteen
fifty eight, that is, fifteen years later by V. Cobra

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At Prague. By this action, Heinah had certainly earned the
gratitude of the House of Rothschild, and it may fairly
be assumed that it was not bad business for camp
In April eighteen forty, an incident occurred at Damascus which
caused the most in intense excitement in the Christian and
the Jewish world. A Jesuit priest and his servant had
been murdered in that city, and the Jews were accused

(18:07):
of having perpetrated a ritual murder upon these victims. The
suspected persons were arrested, and, as torture was at that
time applied in examining such persons, the whole of jury
throughout the world declared that the admissions had been rung
by force and that the accused were guiltless. The Christians
were even more passionate in their assertion that the Jews
were guilty. The incident therefore acquired a significance that Effe

(18:31):
transcended any similar local murders. Innumerable Jews sent their petitions
to members of the House of Rothschild, whose influence with
the various governments of the Great Powers, was well known,
asking them to intervene on behalf of their coreligionists. In
the case of James and Solomon, these prayers fell upon
fruitful ground. James took up the matter with the French government,

(18:53):
and Solomon tried to induce Medinich to take action. Solomon
was in so far successful with the Austrian officials that
the Austrian consul, Vaughan Lauren did actually take steps on
behalf of the arrested persons. This man also persuaded mahamet
Ali to order that torture should be discarded in the
further course of the case against the Jews at Damascus,

(19:14):
and Lauren wrote direct to Solomon to inform him of this,
as well as keeping James in Paris informed of the
course of the whole affair. The French consul at Damascus,
on the other hand, had taken up an attitude hostile
to the Jews. The Vienna Rothschild asked his brother James
to use his influence in Paris. But just at this
time the Austro French difference in the Eastern question was

(19:37):
most acute, and Lewis Philippe's government feared that the people
would regard any action in a sense desired by James
as a humiliation of France before Austria, and as unwarranted
support of Jewish as opposed to Christian interests. For these reasons,
any action in favor of the accused Jews was delayed.
My efforts, James wrote to Solomon, have unfortunately not yet

(19:58):
produced the desired result. The government are acting very slowly
in this matter, in spite of the praiseworthy action of
the Austrian consul. They do not wish immediately to recall
our consul, because the matter is too remote, so that
public interest has not been sufficiently roused about it. All
that I have so far succeeded in doing has been,
as briefly stated in the Monitor today, to arrange that

(20:20):
the Vice Consul at Alexandria should be instructed to investigate
the conduct of the Consul at Damascus. This is, however,
only a temporizing measure, since the Vice Consul is under
the Consul, so that he has no authority to call
the latter to account for his actions. In such circumstances,
the only means we have left is the all powerful
method here of calling in the newspapers to our assistance,

(20:42):
and we have accordingly today had a detailed account based
on the report of the Austrian consul sent into the
Debats and other papers, and have also arranged that this
account shall appear in similar detail in the Aldomna Siding
of Augsburg. We should certainly have published her von Lauren's
letters to me on this matter, had we not felt
that this should only be done after previously obtaining the

(21:03):
permission of His Highness, Prince Vaughan Metderinik. For this reason,
my dear brother, convinced, as I am, that you will
gladly do your utmost in defense of the just cause,
I would beg you to request the Prince, in his kindness,
to authorize the publication of these letters. The gracious sentiments
of human feeling which the Prince has expressed with regard
to this sad episode, causes us confidently to entertain the

(21:25):
hope that this request will not be refused. When you
have received the desired permission, I would beg you, my
dear Solomon, not immediately to publish the letters in the
austeroi Kishi biobacter alone, but also to be so good
as to send them at once with a short covering
letter to the Augsburgers item, so that they may reach
the public through that medium. Also, the Rothschild's intervention on

(21:47):
behalf of their afflicted fellows in a distant country soon
became generally known in Jewish circles and led to Heina's
commenting on the fact in Lutitia we must give the
chief Rabbi of the Reive Droit, Heine wrote, with a
place reference to the Versailles railway on the right bank
of the Seine, the credit of having shown a nobler
spirit in his sympathies for the House of Israel than
his learned rival, the chief Rabbi of the rive ghosche

(22:10):
M Benoi Food, who, while his coreligionists were being tortured
in Syria at the instigation of a French consul, delivered
some excellent speeches in a Chamber of Deputies on the
subject of the conversion of rant and the bank rate,
with the imperturbable calm of a hilll for Austria, However,
in spite of Metternich's intervention on behalf of the Jews,

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Heina had not a good word to say, for he
regarded that state as a hot bed of reaction, where
the written word was subject to restrictions. To an extent
unknown elsewhere. The financial problems of the Imperial State had
at that time again grown acute, as the war rumors
of eighteen forty had resulted in further considerable military expenditure.
There were many hard cases in private business too. Towards

(22:55):
the middle of the year eighteen forty one, one of
the four banks with which the government had constant financial
dealings was actually in difficulties. This was the Bank of Gamoler.
Mettinick wanted at any price to prevent the firm from
going bankrupt and carried on prolonged negotiations to this end
with the House of Rothschild and the other bankers, but
they either could not or would not support that bank.

(23:18):
On the July tenth, it was forced to suspend payment.
There were now only three banks, Rothschild, Sena and Earnstein
and Eskls that did business with the state. Although the
state's need of money was great, its credit stood high,
and on the July fourteenth, eighteen forty one, the three
banks actually underwrote thirty eight million, five hundred thousand florins

(23:40):
of five percent bonds at one hundred and four per cent,
Rothschilds taking over fourteen million immediately after the conclusion of
this agreement. The connection between the events can hardly be doubted.
Solomon Rothschild sent in another petition asking for a dispensation
from one of the numerous regulations limiting the rights of
the Jews. The iron works at Wikowitz had originally belonged

(24:02):
to the Archduke Rudolph and had later been inherited by
the Archduke Rhiner. As the latter had not attained his majority,
it was intended to lease the iron works to Solomon Rothchild.
The petition necessary to effect this had been submitted in
September eighteen thirty three, but at the last moment Wikowitz
was purchased by the Archbishop of Almutz, Count Chotek, when

(24:24):
the construction of the Nordbond began and Rothchild wanted to
make himself independent of foreign iron. The archbishop leased the
ironworks in equal shares to Rothschild and Baron Vaughan Gamoler.
In the meantime, the ironworks had developed enormously, and, as
Solomon said in his petition to the court, it had
by eighteen eleven grown into one of the most splendid

(24:44):
and productive establishments in the monarchy, and one that provided
employment for fifteen hundred men. When Gamoler got into difficulties
and the archbishop was also in need of capital, Rothchild
sought to take advantage of the favorable opportunity for bringing
the whole concern into to his own possession. The difficulty
was that Jews in Austria were not permitted to build factories,

(25:06):
or to acquire the real property necessary for the purpose,
or even to engage in mining. Rothschild therefore requested that
an exception should be made in his favor with regard
to these regulations, in view of the fact that they
had just received a loan. The authorities at Vienna could
not but accede to his request, and Solomon was accordingly
permitted to purchase Wikowitz, lock stock, and beryl, and to

(25:29):
proceed with coal mining and iron works. The moment had
been happily chosen. The Rothchilds were exceedingly clever at making
governments feel under an obligation to them, and had a
genius for striking while the iron was hot. They sometimes
made it almost morally impossible for a government to refuse
their requests, and not to give them the monopoly of

(25:50):
banking business within his own sphere. Amskill Meyer at Frankfort
acted on precisely similar lines. The Bethman Bank had long
been overshadowed. As Schweimer says, amskill had his finger in
every pie. He dealt with the business of the Federation
as well as with that of the individual German governments,
and supplied the money for the railways that were being

(26:12):
constructed everywhere at that time. He continued in close relations
with the Court of Hesse, to which his house had
owed its rise. When in eighteen thirty one, the son
of the old Elector, Wilhelm the second, had left the
capital on account of his mistress, the heir to the
throne who was later to be the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm I,
had been appointed joint regent at Kassel. He ave as

(26:35):
morganatically married to Gertrude Faukenstein, the divorced wife of a
Prussian lieutenant Lehman. In eighteen thirty one. He raised her
to the rank of Countess von Schomberg and later created
her Princess of Haneu in eighteen ten. The Elector already
had live children by this marriage. Amschkill Meyer gave the
Elector financial assistance in starting them in life, and the

(26:56):
Prince and his countess would often take their midday meal
quite and famili with their business friend. Not only the Elector,
but most of the other German princes would apply to
Rothschild for money. Rothchild would often make the conclusion of
other agreements with banks, subject to the condition that the
bank should take over a portion of the liabilities of
these numerous loans to petty German rulers. Just as he

(27:19):
thoroughly understood how to keep up the price of such
securities as he felt inclined to favor, he also knew
how to depress a loan. In a report of Baron
Vaughan Menchingen, we read, Baron Rothschild has given a proof
of his power in the case of the Russo Polish
lottery loan of the year eighteen thirty five. He persistently
depreciated this very safe and profitable security because the principal underwriter,

(27:42):
the banker Frankel of Warsaw, refused to allow him to
participate in it, and because the Russian government, being annoyed
with the London Rothschild about the loan which he had granted,
suddenly broke off relations with his house and has since
dealt with Hope of Amsterdam. In these circumstances, it is
not surprising that many of them smaller German governments, and
more particularly that of Nassau, should have recourse exclusively to

(28:05):
the House of Rothchild and should refuse to be influenced
by the dissatisfaction frequently expressed by their subjects, especially in
the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Metinich had for a long
time fully appreciated the power of the House of Rothschild,
but he would not tolerate an obvious divergence between himself
and the Rothschilds in matters affecting foreign policy. When during

(28:26):
the discussions on the Loan of eighteen forty one, Solomon
wanted to put in a clause providing for the possible
outbreak of war, Medinich replied that, as Minister for Foreign Affairs,
he would feel compelled to protest against any such clause
being admitted, since I could never concur in allowing a
decision affecting the question of war or peace to be
influenced by the attitude of the banks. Solomon replied that

(28:47):
he fully appreciated Medinick's point, and nothing further was heard
of this suggestion. Fundamentally, the Wrothchilds were the only house
in which the Chancellor had real confidence, the following circumstance
being a remarkable instance of this fact. Several businesses in
Vienna and Triist being in difficulties. In August eighteen forty one,
the government decided that the three big banks should be

(29:09):
allowed to apply four million for their relief in Vienna
and one million in Trieste. Strangely enough, the three banks
were allowed to decide to whom such assistance should be granted.
This provision soon resulted in considerable discontent and complaints were
made to the Treasury as to the manner in which
the money was allotted. Two banks, that of Sena and

(29:31):
that of Arnstein and Eskals, were more particularly accused of
having favored those persons with whom they had close business
relations in the allocation of the government. Moneys Metdinich carefully
went into this complaint and decided that the best way
of dealing with the complaint would be for the state
secretly to give Solomon Rothschild the control in this matter
over the heads of the other two banks. In view

(29:53):
of the conduct of the three firms, he wrote in
allocating the commercial subsidies, the question naturally suggests itself whether
the government which is providing the means has the right
to control the operations of the three firms. By control,
I mean that the three firms should be required to
render a regular account of the monies expended by them.

(30:13):
Solomon is bound to feel himself crippled in dealing with
this matter, because he dreads arousing the hostility of his
environment and has the most profound content for the banking
community of Vienna. Moreover, as a business man, he regards
his position as that of a foreigner in Vienna, and
so he will only deal with the governments as however,
he is one of the persons entrusted with the disposal

(30:35):
of the monies of the reserve fund. He must be
retained here, and I advise Baron Quebec to tell Solomon
frankly that he relies on him, but to tell him
as a confidential friend. This is the line which is
most effective in influencing him. This was a great mark
of the confidence which Metternich reposed in Solomon, it being
entirely in accordance with their personal relations. Solomon surpassed himself

(30:58):
in attentions to the Medernick family. Our friend Solomon's devotion
always touches me, the princess wrote, just after he had
paid her a visit. During the summer, when the Medainiks
were at their estate near Frankfort, they received constant attentions,
such as American deer for their park, and members of
the banker's family often came to call on them, amongst others.

(31:19):
The Princess Melanie noted in her diary on the September fifth,
eighteen forty one were the Rothchilds five in number. There
were Solomon and James, their nephew, Anthony, Solomon's son, and
finally Amshkill, who made a great point of our coming
to dine with him at Frankfort. Next Tuesday, James brought
me a pretty mother of pearl and bronze box from

(31:39):
Paris filled with sweets, which was all to the good. When,
as in eighteen forty eight, the Medainich stayed at Aisel,
Solomon was there, and not unnaturally for Marie Louise of
Parma and her suite were there too. At Christmas, Rothchild
would send lovely things to the Medinick children, such as
tempted their mother to play with them herself. For his part,

(32:02):
Solomon Rothschild had no occasion to complain that such friendly
turns were not reciprocated, there being plenty of occasion for
doing so. In view of the strict regime to which
the Jews were still subject in Austria, the question of
the Jew's right to hold real property had not yet
been settled. In order to get over this difficulty, Solomon,

(32:23):
having prepared the way by numerous benefactions, applied to be
granted the rights and privileges of a citizen of Vienna.
For as a Viennese citizen, he would automatically acquire the
right to own real property. In order, however, to achieve
his purpose, he had to apply to the Emperor for
a dispensation with regard to this concession. The Emperor granted

(32:43):
the dispensation, and the town accordingly admitted him as a citizen.
Solomon thereupon proceeded to purchase the house of the Romish Kaiser,
which was situated within the ring at Vienna in the Rengase,
together with the house immediately adjoining, which he pulled down,
building another house specially adapted to his purpose on the site.
For this favor, Solomon expressed his gratitude whenever opportunity offered

(33:07):
a terrible fire having broken out in Hamburg in eighteen
forty two, which destroyed a large proportion of the town,
Solomon not only offered Medinich a large personal subscription, but
also offered to transmit any sums to Hamburg free of charge.
I shall avail myself, he wrote to Metternich, of the
services of my old business friend, her Solomon Heine, who

(33:29):
is well known for his philanthropic feelings, knowing that I
may assume that he will dispense with any bank charges
and remit to the civil authorities at Hamburg the exact
equivalent of the sums paid in here. Such actions as
these always made a good impression and served to consolidate
Solomon's position at Vienna. The state was in constant need
of further loans. In eighteen forty three, the three banks

(33:52):
offered a forty million loan in return for bonds to
the amount of forty three million florins, Rothschild taking up
one third. In addition to these state loans, numerous private
loans were contracted with the most distinguished members of the
Austrian and Hungarian nobility. Prince Asterhazi, for instance, who had
not even repaid his loan of eighteen twenty nine, was

(34:14):
in eighteen forty four negotiating a loan of no less
than six million, four hundred thousand florins with Rothschild and Sina.
The activities oh the House of Rothchild were, however, by
no means confined to financial transactions. Any opportunity of doing
business in other directions was eagerly seized. Austrian smokers at

(34:35):
that time were suffering acutely from the fact that the
state tobacco monopoly had forbidden the import of genuine Havana
cigars in order to protect the home industry. The House
of Rothschild, who fully realized how many cigars were smuggled
into the country, made a contract with a firm in
Havana to supply ten million cigars at thirty three golden
per thousand, delivered free in Vienna. Rothschild undertaking to obtain

(34:58):
the necessary permission to o import them from Quebec. The
minister concerned Quebec immediately agreed, since when the cigars were
retailed to the public at seventy golden per thousand, the
state made a profit of one hundred and twelve percent.
As count harted pointed out, Quebec did not even wait
for the Emperor's assent, although the papers came to him

(35:18):
in due course for signature, the Emperor being regarded simply
as a signing machine. The cigars sold like hot cakes.
A repeat order for seventeen million, five hundred thousand was
sent off almost at once, and all concerned made a
very good business out of it, the smokers themselves gladly
paying the heavy price for a pleasure that they had
been so long denied. The smokers, indeed were exceedingly grateful

(35:42):
to Solomon Rothschild, and this import of Havana cigars, besides
being good business, increased Solomon's popularity. Having succeeded in establishing
himself in Vienna, Solomon also felt the desire to acquire
landed property, to invest his spare cash in real estate,
and to create an inn tailed the state for his
family in the manner of the great nobles of the country.

(36:04):
For this purpose he had to petition the Emperor, since
foreign Jews were also not permitted to acquire landed property.
Solomon set out in his petition that he had long
ago come to regard Austria as his second fatherland. He
recited all the services he had rendered to the State
of Austria. It has always been my constant endeavor to
improve and consolidate Austria's credit, which is now so splendidly established,

(36:28):
And in these honorable efforts I have always enjoyed the
active support of all our houses on the continent. I
have always welcomed every opportunity and done anything in my
power to promote the interests of industry and undertakings of
public utility in Austria. The great railway through Moravia, which
will soon connect Austria with the Eastern and Northern seas,

(36:48):
could have been achieved only through the expenditure of large
sums of money and by dint of patient waiting sacrifices
that I was called upon to make to the amount
of several hundred thousand at a time of acute fire
financial crisis, when confidence was at a very low. Ab
Solomon mentioned his expenditure of five hundred thousand florins on
the purchase and installations at Witkowitz, as well as his

(37:10):
annual expenditure of four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand
florins in wages, and finally the seven hundred thousand florins
expended on the coal mines in Dalmatia, as though all
this money had been expended simply in order to provide
a means of livelihood to many thousands of persons who
would otherwise be entirely poor and destitute, pointing out that
up to the present he had derived no profit for himself,

(37:33):
Your most humble petitioner, Solomon continued, has always been an
active and zealous supporter of all other kinds of public
institutions as well, and in this connection he feels that
he can confidently rely upon the witness of the higher authorities,
as well as upon the recognition of public opinion. Since
he does not wish to appear to blow his own trumpet,
or to weary your majesty with a narration of individual examples,

(37:56):
the most humble Undersign believes that these acts, and his
general conduct during his stay of nearly a quarter of
a century in your capital city, have furnished adequate proof
of his unshakable devotion to the Austrian monarchy. And it
is therefore natural that he should most ardently desire to
own property in a country whose rulers have shown him
so many signal marks of their favor. A country which

(38:17):
has so many dear relations for him, and to which
your humble and loyal petitioners posterity, living entirely in accordance
with his example, desires to be bound with similar bonds
of love and loyalty. This desire would be satisfied by
the possession of a domain in Moravia, For that is
the province which should, in the future most especially yield

(38:37):
the fruits of the well intentioned efforts which your loyal
and humble petitioner has made and will not fail to
continue to make in order to secure its advantage and prosperity.
That is also the province in which a substantial part
of his wealth has already been invested in the coal
mines of Witkewitz. Solomon wound up this memorial by saying
that he confined himself to the most humble request that

(39:00):
your eye enit majesty, may be graciously pleased to confer
upon your most humble and loyal petitioner the right for
him and his descendants to own one or other of
the domains in the province of Moravia. If your humble
petitioner should find an opportunity for acquiring such domain. The
petition was first transmitted to Count Ugarte, the provincial governor

(39:20):
of Moravia and Silesia, for his observations. He emphasized the
fact that the concession with regard to Wikowitz in no
way implied that the subject matter of the petition should
be granted, since it is essentially distinct from the actual
ownership of landed property carrying rights of jurisdiction, which in
these provinces at any rate, have never been granted to

(39:40):
a person of the Jewish persuasion. Moreover, it is necessary
to call attention to the fact that, if, in the
case of Baron Vaughan Rothschild, the right to own real
estate were to pass to his heirs, he would be
placed in a more favorable position even than Christian landed
proprietors who are not domiciled in these provinces. Count Ugarte
went on to state that in view of these considerations,

(40:03):
it was clear that to accede to Baron Rothschild's petition
would be to confer a quite exceptional favor upon an
individual such as had never been granted in his part
of the country, being contrary to the Constitution and to
the law. Such a remarkable act of grace on the
part of the Emperor could be justified only by the
most important services and the most highly exceptional personal qualities.

(40:24):
As to the services rendered by Baron Vaughan Rothschild to
the state in general, the governor observed that it was
not within his province to comment upon them, and that
such comment must be reserved for higher authority. The fact
of their importance could not be doubted, since the Emperor
had seen fit to raise Rothschild to the dignity of
an Austrian baron, to confer upon him the freedom of

(40:45):
them capital, and to grant him the necessary dispensation for
engaging in mining operations. As to the question how far
the Province of Moravia was specially associated with the services
in return for which Baron Rothschild had received these signal honors,
Count Ugarte felt that he was merely doing his duty
in stating his complete conviction that, through exercising his determining

(41:07):
influence in favor of the construction of the Kaiser Ferdinand's Nordbaud,
the petitioner had particularly earned the gratitude of the Province
of Moravia. Bugarte further suggested that the large minded enterprise
which Rothschild had shown in establishing the iron works at
Wikuwit seemed to indicate that he intended to make them
a model and a blessing for the whole country, a
second serag indeed, and that these works would constitute an

(41:30):
enormously important element in a further industrial development of the province. Further,
Rothschild was particularly to be commended for the fact that
immediately after taking over these important works he had instituted
schools for the children of the workpeople, thereby showing a
concern for the moral and intellectual welfare of the workers
that was rare in the world of industry and constituted

(41:51):
a notable example for others to follow. After observing that
the concessions for mining and establishing iron works which had
been granted to Rothchild were off the greatest importance to
the province, Count Ugarte concluded his report with the following
general remarks as to baron Rothschild's personal qualities, his position
in society is so exceptional that he has been entirely

(42:12):
removed from the ordinary circumstances of his coreligionists. His remarkable
qualities and rare intelligence make it entirely inappropriate to apply
strictly in his case the regulations in force with regard
to other Israelites, while leaving it to the judgment of
higher authority to decide whether the very exceptional circumstances which
he had enumerated justified or did not justify the granting

(42:34):
of the petition, Count u Guarte expressed the view that
if in spite of all objections, an exception to the
general rule were at all permissible, the case of Baron
Vaughan Rothschild would certainly and perhaps exclusively justify such an exception.
Being made the head of the Treasury, Count Enzigi, minuted
on this opinion that in view of the very exceptional

(42:55):
position held by the House of Rothschild in European commerce,
he felt bound to recommend the granting of the petition.
The fact that no Jew owned landed property in Moravia
did not matter, since in Lower Austria, where Jews are
actually forbidden to stay in the country at all, a
Jew had purchased a domain and the Emperor had actually
allowed the estate to pass to his son. It was

(43:17):
certainly a fact that it was usual to grant such
a right to own land to the petitioner only without
allowing the right to become heritable. But the count continued,
it seems to me that in this particular case we
should have regard to the special circumstances of the petitioner,
Baron Rothschild. At his advanced age of seventy years. It
would be almost insulting for the Emperor to grant the

(43:37):
right to own land to him alone, and such a
privilege would be practically useless if it were not made
to cover at any rate his two children, the Iye
and our Consul general at frankfort Ansell Baron Rothschild and
his daughter, who is married to his younger brother, James
Baron Rothschild the Eye and are Consul General in Paris.

(43:58):
The services rendered by Baron Vaughn R. Rothschild are so
well known. He is so famous for his philanthropy and
public spirit, that it would be redundant for me to
enumerate his many individual good deeds. Having regard to the
further consideration that it is highly desirable that Baron Rothschild
should be more closely bound to the Imperial State of
Austria by the investment of his money in real property

(44:19):
in this country, and in view of the fact that
it would create a very strange impression abroad, if his
particular wish to settle permanently in that country, where he
has been so actively engaged for a long period of years,
and has been associated with the government in more extensive
end important transactions than has ever been the case before
with a private individual were to be refused after the

(44:40):
special distinctions that have been conferred upon him, I feel
it to be my duty to support the petition which
has been graciously sent to me by my colleague. For
my observations, the Emperor gave his decision acceding to all
the requests put forward in Solomon Rothschild's petition. By way
of showing his gratitude, Rothschild gave us some of forty
thousand florins for erecting a building in the town of

(45:02):
Brunn for the purpose of scientific research. Although, as has
been shown, the higher authorities in the state fully supported Rothschild,
the Moravian estates were of a holy contrary opinion. As
the Emperor's decision had already been promulgated, it was impossible
for them, in the circumstances of the time, openly to
resist it, but they determined at any rate to address

(45:25):
the most humble request to His Majesty that no extension
of any kind whatever to the exception in question should
be accorded, and that the concession graciously granted to Baron
Vaughan Rothschild should be strictly limited in application to a
single domain. This petition was duly sent forward to the Emperor,
but Count Enzigi made the observation thereon that this petition
of the Moravian Estates does not appear to be entirely

(45:47):
consonant with their proper attitude to your Majesty. The papers
were anally presented to the Emperor, to be disposed of
by the following sentence, I concur in your opinion, and
it is my wish that this uncalled for suggestion by
the Moravian Estates should be put by without reply, and
the Emperor duly signed. Although Baron Rothschild had obtained his

(46:07):
Imperial Majesty's blessing at an expenditure of forty thousand florins
for public benet at in the province of Moravia, the
Moravian Estates decided as a protest not to accept his offer. Rothschild, however,
determined that the forty thousand florins should be applied to
the purpose Tie had intended, leaving it entirely to the
decision of His Majesty as to how the money should

(46:28):
be applied, my wish being that the province of Moravia
should benefit. Baron Vaughan Pillersdorff of the Emperor's Secretariat recommended
that the Emperor should note with approval Baron Rothschild's renewed offer,
and should grant that he should be informed of the
manner in which the money should be spent. This would
appear to be in accordance with the dignity of the
Imperial government, and would also convey a hint to the

(46:50):
Moravian estates that their conduct in the matter has not
been quite seemly or shown that consideration for the decisions
of their sovereign, which was his due. Count Choleraret WI
of the same opinion, and the matter was disposed of
by the following minute, which the Emperor signed as usual
on its being laid before him. I am pleased to
accept Baron Vaughan Rothschild's proposal and leave it to the

(47:12):
President of the Chancery to indicate some way of applying
the inn in some manner approximating to the purpose originally
indicated by the donor. This ended the matter, and Solomon
Rothschild was free to purchase estates and domains. During eighteen
forty four he bought the estate of Oderberg from Count Henkel,
as well as the property of Ludzierzowitz in Prussia, and

(47:33):
in eighteen forty five he bought the Holzehen estate. Since
eighteen thirteen, Solomon had owned the Schillersdorf domaine in Prussia
near the Austrian frontier. In one direction, this estate consisted
of a magnificent castle, complete with fountains, moats, waterfalls, swans, grottoes,
kennels and game preserves. In the other direction there was

(47:56):
a foundry and other industrial works. Solomon rothe Child had
now suddenly become one of the largest landed proprietors in
the country. The resentment aroused by the growing power of
the House of Rothschild, which had manifested itself in their
purchase of real estate, became especially evident in connection with
the preliminary discussions regarding the construction of a central railway

(48:17):
through Hungary, in which Solomon Rothschild meant to play a
leading part. Sena's rivalry was also a factor in this matter,
and he had succeeded in securing the support of Count Schine,
the Great Hungarian, and indeed the magnificent display in which
Solomon Rothschild had latterly indulged, as for instance, when on
a journey, was such as could not fail to arouse resentment.

(48:41):
His progress from place to place was almost regal. A
meeting of the Central Hungarian Railway Company had been called
to be held at Presbourg on the June twenty eighth,
eighteen forty four. Solomon Rothchild arrived by steamer the evening before,
and an unpleasant sensation was caused by the fact that
the boat, on his account, stopped at the Konigsplatz instead

(49:01):
of at the usual landing stage. The occupants of some
of the rooms at the Hotel Zurusan, where the Baron stayed,
had been forced to vacate them so that they might
be placed at his disposal. It leaked out that two
coaches and four with outriders had been ordered for the
Baron's return to Vienna on the evening of the twenty ninth.
Rothschild's coreligionists also wished to give him a special welcome.

(49:24):
A large number of Jews here, the police report stated,
waited for him on the banks of the Danube. Count
Esterhazi frustrated their intention of according the baron a special welcome,
as he would not allow the Jews to carry out
their scheme of letting off forty rockets. They were restrained
even from shouting their welcome, which, in view of the
ill feeling between the citizens and the Jews here, might

(49:45):
easily have led to a breach of the peace. As
it was, people were complaining because the ship landed at
the Koenigsplatz on account of Rothschild instead of at the
usual landing place. When he disembarked, a carriage and four
that had been waiting for him took him to to
his hotel. Soon after his arrival, he went to the
Hollinger Cafe, where he had an ice. As he left,

(50:07):
some young people shouted at him from the upper story.
Rothschild is lunching to day with his Excellency, her person
Aile and the commissioners of the opposition party will be
there too at four o'clock. When they break up, Rothschild
will immediately proceed home. It was originally intended to hold
the meeting of the Central Railway Company in the council Hall.

(50:29):
But when it was heard that some of the young
people of the diet were excited and that Count Stefan Sechini,
who is in league with Sena, had also taken part
in the agitation against the Central Railway, the meeting was
called in the shooting gallery at the Mayor's banquet. The
vice Palatine, Counts carl Esterhazy and Andressy, the military commander
at Presburg, and numerous county magnates. Members of the most

(50:52):
important families in the country, such as Gabriel Lognier, Hurdeleendi, Roder,
et cetera, were present. These people were particularly friendly and
agreeable to Rothchild, and one of them proposed his health
in the most flattering terms, he essying the hope that
the Baron and his brother's resident in the various capitals
of Europe would come to Hungary and devote their wealth

(51:13):
and their moral resources exclusively to that country. Rothschild thanked
him very pleasantly, saying that flattering as the suggestion was,
it was not practicable, since fate and circumstances decided the matter,
but that he would always devote his special attention to
the beautiful country of Hungary. This remark was received with
great applause. As he left, Solomon observed that he would

(51:36):
have to follow the example of the schoolmaster, who, as
he went away said to his pupils, I am going,
but I am leaving my cloak behind, and it will
tell me what everybody has done and how they have
behaved in my absence. This remark was taken very good
humoredly by those present, although it was variously commented upon afterwards.
The priesthood were frequently displeased to observe the growing power

(51:59):
of the Jewish banker, and they sought wherever possible to
put difficulties in the way of the House of Rothschild. Thus,
in connection with his coal and asphalt works in Dalmatia,
Solomon was compelled on the February sixth, eighteen forty five
to request the Emperor that steps might be taken to
induce the Archbishop of Czara to instruct the priests, who

(52:20):
were putting all kinds of obstacles in the way of
the undertaking, to cease doing so. His requests were almost
always granted, for Solomon had succeeded in making himself indispensable.
He was just considering another highly important business with the state,
namely a contract regarding the setting up of Assault works
for producing salt in a Venice Lagoon, with a view

(52:41):
to supplying the needs of almost the whole of Lombardy. When,
as frequently occurred, Solomon was away from Vienna and staying
at Frankfort, the authorities in the monarchy who were responsible
for its finances felt quite uncomfortable. This was especially the
case when there was a sudden slump in railway securities
and a crisis on the Bourse in Vienna in October

(53:02):
eighteen forty five, there having been much speculation in these
stocks there as everywhere else in Europe, alarmist rumors regarding
disturbances in Italy so far accentuated the crisis that the
three state bankers Sena Eskals and the manager for Rothchild,
who was absent, requested the state to come to their
immediate assistance with a loan of two million florins on

(53:23):
their joint security that a calamity might be averted. Medinick
instructed the Austrian minister at Frankfort to request Solomon, in
view of the state of the money market, either to
come to Vienna himself or to send another member of
his house. He stated that he felt it to be
essential in the interests of the state's finances that one
member of the Rothschild family should reside permanently in Vienna.

(53:45):
Solomon replied evasively, as he had urgent business in Frankfort,
where there were also financial difficulties. But the incident served
to show how as soon as Austria was financially embarrassed,
Medinick cried out for Rothschild in France two, the direction
of the state's finances was to a large extent dependent
upon the house of Rothschild. In eighteen forty one, when

(54:08):
James Rothschild was taking the cure at Gostein, the French
finance Minister Human asked him to be in Paris without
fail by the seventh or September ninth, as he was
anxious that the conclusion of a loan should not be
postponed beyond that date. In point of fact, a loan
of one hundred and fifty million francs three percent rant
was underwritten in October eighteen forty one at seventy eight

(54:30):
point five two by a company of which James Rothschild
was chairman, without anyone else having been asked to bid
for it. There was great dissatisfaction over the loan in Paris.
It was not considered to have done justice to the
country's credit, and the feeling was that human had been cheated.
There were, in fact dealings on the Bourse and alone
directly after it had been underwritten by the House of

(54:52):
Rothschild at eighty one percent. The House of Rothschild was
constantly employed by Lewis Philippe's government in dad diplomatic as
well as in financial matters. When General Espartero, after defeating
Don Carlos, had forced the Queen Mother to flee the
country and had made himself Regent of Spain, Guiseau decided
that it was desirable to establish better terms with him.

(55:15):
As the French government was in general in favor of
Marie Christine, France's diplomatic representative at Madrid would have nothing
to do with Espartero, it was decided to make advances
to him through the House of Rothschild, and Guizau asked
James to convey the wishes of the French government in
a letter to his representative Wiseweiler, through whom General Espartero
had invested his private money so that through this channel

(55:37):
the General might be informed of them. Wiseweiler demurred at
the suggestion because he feared thereby to endanger the financial
and commercial interests of the House of rothschild in Spain. However,
the messages were ultimately conveyed, although further events in Spain
ending with the fall of Esparterra brought the affair to
a negative conclusion. Although he had been unable to prevent

(56:00):
the ultimate defeat of his protege, Don Carlos, Mederinich still
hoped partly to modify its results. His idea was to
marry the young Queen Isabella, daughter of Marie Christine, who
was fourteen in eighteen forty four, to Don Carlos's son,
in order thus indirectly to place the air of his
protege upon the throne of Spain. The London Rothschilds had

(56:22):
written to Solomon in Vienna on the March twenty ninth,
telling him that the British ministry would do everything possible
to promote the success of this plan. Solomon immediately passed
this on to Mederinich, who expressed the opinion that the
consummation of such a marriage would be a really happy
event for the whole of Europe, and would serve to
bring the policy of isolation pursued by France and England

(56:43):
with regard to Spanish affairs into line with the policies
of the other three governments. For the sake of his
own personal prestige, apart from other considerations, Medinich did attach
great importance to this, for he had personally made every
possible effort at the courts of Berlin and Petersburg on
behalf of the cause of Don Carlos Solomon. Rothschild also

(57:04):
perceived that such an event would provide all kinds of
possibilities for his house. If this event, so fraught with
benefit for the future of Spain, should come to pass,
he wrote to the Rothschild houses in Paris, London and Frankfort,
the moment would have arrived for our house to render
effective financial aid to the consolidated government of that country.

(57:24):
Our honored Prince would himself advise us confidently to come
forward and demonstrate our willingness to set about putting into
operation an extensive financial arrangement for Spain, in which endeavors
we should be able to count upon the fullest support
from His Highness in every possible way. Having been authorized
by his Highness, my dear brothers to inform you of
his sentiments exactly as they were communicated to me, remembering

(57:47):
that they are the views of him, whom we are
accustomed to regard as our oracle, I need not request
you to make them the guiding principle of your actions,
as soon as events take such a course that we
may give up the attitude of mere contemplation and embark
on a course of action suitable to these highly important circumstances. Events, however,
were to fall out otherwise, Isabella was married to her

(58:09):
cousin and not to the son of Don Carlos, and
Mederinich's whole dream of establishing his policy in Spain as
well was brought to naught. Medinich was exceedingly indignant about this, and,
although generally so lenient in his attitude to the House
of Rothschild, in the case of the Spanish affair, he
was inclined to lay all the blame upon the Paris
and the London houses. In Paris, too, there was a

(58:32):
strong party that was much inclined to look askance at
the position of special confidence enjoyed by the mouse of Rothchild.
This was especially the case with those whom the Wrothchilds
had not associated with themselves in the Northern Railway undertaking.
To have brought in all those who wanted to make
money would of course have been impossible, and those who
were left out said to anybody they could get to

(58:52):
listen to them that Lewis Philippe had simply resigned in
favor of the Jews. Medinich, in a moment of ill temper,
once expressed himself rather strongly with regard to the position
of the Rothchilds in France. After emphasizing the difference between
conditions in Austria and France, he said, by reason of
natural causes which I cannot regard as good or as moral,

(59:13):
the House of Rothschild is a much more important influence
in French affairs than the foreign office of any country,
except perhaps England. The great motive force is their money.
People who hope for philanthropy and who have to suppress
all criticism under the weight of gold, need a great
deal of it. The fact of corruption, that practical element

(59:34):
in the fullest sense of the word. In the modern
representative system is recognized quite openly. Vaughan Arnem, the German
minister in Paris, described the House of Rothchild as one
of the great powers of the day, and suggested that
few governments were in a position to say that they
did not bear the golden chains of that house. This
was naturally more likely to be the case in a

(59:56):
country where the fever of speculation had laid hold of
all classes of the population, and were even the employees
of the government speculated shamelessly on the bourse James Rothschild
did not perceive the dissatisfaction that this state of affairs
was arousing in the country. He imagined that just because
everybody was now engaged in speculation and money making, there

(01:00:17):
would be no desire to overthrow the existing government for
fear of losing money the departments. James Rothschild said to
count a pony. I at this time that have got
railways want to keep them in order to make as
much profit out of them as possible. Those which have
not yet got them hope and wish to have them
in the near future, as both these aims can be

(01:00:39):
realized only by the maintenance of peace and order. Everybody
is now declaring themselves to be conservative in pro government.
James's judgment was too much affected by the attitude of
those circles with whom he had most to do. He
left the fourth estate, that of the workmen and peasants,
out of the account because he came so little into
touch with them. His attention was principally engaged by the

(01:01:02):
enormous work of railway construction. In order to silence such
opposition as invariably arises in Parliament and in the press
in connection with any important undertaking, he did his utmost
to give opposing dements a financial interest in a concern.
The only organ that refused to accept shares was the
opposition paper National, which continued actively to oppose the Northern Railway.

(01:01:25):
On the June fifteenth, eighteen forty six, sections of the
Northern Railway were opened with great festivities. On the July
eighth of that year, there was a railway accident. This
produced a sudden storm of pamphlets and attacks in the press.
The accident was indeed a very serious one near fam Poul,

(01:01:46):
close to Eiris. The train had run off the lines
on to an embankment which curved sharply, running into a
stretch of water at the foot of the embankment. Thirty
seven people were killed, and the accident produced violent attacks
upon the builders of the railway and especially upon the
most important factor, the House of Rothschild. The National started
a positive campaign against them, and James Rothschild was attacked

(01:02:09):
in pamphlets on all sides. There had been similar attacks
before in Germany, where a certain Alexander wil who was
known as a socialist and communist, had launched malicious attacks
in a pamphlet called Rothschild and the European States against
the financial despotism and egotism of the House of Rothchild.
He endeavored to show that there was only one power

(01:02:30):
in Europe, namely Rothschild. His officers were a dozen other
banking firms, his men were all honorable tradesmen and work people,
and his sword was speculation. This effusion was extraordinarily tamed
compared to the storm that now broke out in France.
The outstanding attack was container in a pamphlet called Histwar
at Defiantitticure use to Rothchild, seven roy the Jewiffs, which

(01:02:54):
contained a description of the railway accident of the July eighth.
This most unsaved reproduction, which laid all the blame on
James and his house, was anonymously circulated in large quantities.
There were, on the other hand, people who endeavored to
spread the impression abroad that they had been authorized by
James to issue a counter pamphlet in reply to this,

(01:03:16):
A man who had not the faintest connection with James Rothschild,
published a pamphlet under the title baron James Vaughan Rothschild's
official reply to the pamphlet entitled Histoire at Defiant, et cetera.
Another person produced a pamphlet in titled Reply by Rothschild,
the First King of the Jews to Satan, the last
King of Slanderers. Such persons then tried to extract a

(01:03:38):
cash reward from James, but they were not successful in this,
for James meant to ignore all pamphleteers equally, whether they
were for or against him. He found it impossible, however,
to adhere to this, for poor though their composition was,
the pamphlets were circulated in tens of thousands, and Amskillmeyer
at Frankfort did not remain as calm as his brother

(01:04:00):
James when these scurrilous attacks began to appear. In Prussia
in German translations. It was therefore decided to take active steps,
and Solomon's son Amskill applied direct to the Prussian government.
Your Excellency, he wrote, will I am sure forgive me
with your usual kindness for asking for your attention, although

(01:04:20):
the most important matters of the state have such a
claim upon it. To my letter, in which I deal
with a matter of great concern to our family, Your
Excellency is no doubt aware that after the unfortunate accident
on the Northern railway of France, several scurrilous attacks were
published against my uncle, Baron James as representing the Paris House.
The pamphleteers did not merely attribute the responsibility for the

(01:04:42):
accident to my uncle, but also did not scruple to
make the foulest and entirely unfounded imputations upon the character
and morality of our business, with an impudence such as
I have never before experienced. We felt that it was
beneath our dignity to defend ourselves against such vulgar abuse,
especially as it emanated princes from a despicable person to
whom our Paris House had quite rightly refused alone. Our

(01:05:05):
view was that the rabble, which is more inclined to
listen to abuse than to truth and right, is difficult
to convince, but that the impartial, thoughtful section of the public,
which has had an opportunity of observing our manner of
acting over a period of years, does not need to
be convinced. It is true that shortly afterwards several counter
pamphlets appeared defending our house against these scurrilous attacks, but

(01:05:28):
this was done entirely without our collaboration, and indeed without
our knowledge. As long as our enemies confine their activities
to French soil, we did not feel that any useful
purpose would be served by taking any action to prevent them,
as France is the hunting ground of the most unrestrained press,
and nobody who occupies any prominent position is spared its

(01:05:48):
poisonous attacks. In Germany, however, and especially in Prussia, this
is not or should not be the case. All the
more painful, therefore, was the impression made when we found
that similar scurrilous pamphlets were being published in Berlin and Breslau.
I will not disguise from your Excellency that, at their
advanced time of life, my father and my uncle have

(01:06:10):
felt these attacks very keenly, and perceive with regret that
under the rule of one of the justice of monarchs,
and in spite of the control of the strict censorship,
it should be possible, in a country to which they
have rendered such important services over such a long period
of years, for these foul abortions to see the light
of day. For and on behalf of all the members
of our house, I therefore apply with confidence to Your

(01:06:32):
Excellency with the request that you will allow the attached petition,
which humbly sets out our just complaint, to reach the
hands of His Majesty the King. My family believe that
they have a special claim upon the influential co operation
of Your Excellency on this occasion, and that you will
see that steps are speedily and effectively taken to prevent
any recurrence of this nuisance, since what has occurred cannot

(01:06:54):
now be undone. By granting this our request, your Excellency would,
if possible, it will further increase our sincere feelings of gratitude,
especially in the case of my father and my uncle,
who are so completely devoted to you, and who would
be put under an everlasting debt of gratitude. The House
of Rothschild set particular hopes on this petition because Anselm

(01:07:15):
had been in close negotiation in the summer of that
year with the Prussian finance minister regarding the general reorganization
of Prussia's public finances. The attacks, however, affected the House
of Rothschild to an extraordinarily small degree. The financial requirements
of the great states with whom the Rothschilds were in
touch were so pressing, and the Rothchild monopoly in finance

(01:07:36):
was so marked that it was impossible to dispense with them,
and all these unpleasant attacks were ignored. Amshkil Meyer was
the treasurer of the German Federation. Austria and Prussia had
repaid the money for the fortress construction into the federal treasury,
and when in February one hundred and eighty four g
Rothchild rendered a statement, it appeared that the Federation had

(01:07:57):
an amount of seven million to eight million lying at
an interest in that account. Even the Pope again entered
into negotiations with the House of Rothschild, through the intermediary
of Metternich, in order to obtain money for constructing railways.
Since June eighteen forty the liberal minded Pious the ninth
had occupied the papal chair, and he immediately assented to

(01:08:17):
the construction of the railways, which had not been allowed
under his predecessor. In this connection, the Chancellor forwarded on
the August thirteenth, eighteen forty six, a report of a
conversation between Anselm and the papal nuncio at Franzen's Bath.
Austria required a further loan in eighteen forty seven, and
the three banks, including Rothschilds, undertook in return for eighty

(01:08:40):
million florins of bonds to pay eighty four million florins
cash in sixty five monthly installments, commencing on the June first,
eighteen forty seven. This condition was to prove of vital
importance in view of what occurred in the following year.
The loan had scarcely been agreed when a further request
was sent into the Chancellor's office asking that a dispensation

(01:09:02):
should be granted so that his faith should not be
a bar to Solomon's son. Anselm receiving the expected grant
of the freedom of the city of Vienna, Count choleret
minuted on this that quite Apart from the fact that Anselm,
who was no less public spirited than his fatire, might
be expected to contribute generously to philanthropic institutions in matters
of public interest to the City of Vienna. It must

(01:09:24):
also be noted that it is in the interests of
the state that this dispensation should be granted, since it
would be an unpleasant position if the principal banks at Vienna,
to which recourse is had for loans and other financial operations,
were to be reduced by one on the death of
Solomon Baron Vaughan Rothschild, so that we should be practically
confined to dealing with the House of Sena. Anselm was,

(01:09:46):
in point of fact, entered in the Golden Book of
the City of Vienna. A further petition was sent in
not long after the first, on the June eleventh, eighteen
forty seven. In it, Solomon requested that his estate Corrichau
in Moravia and three town houses in Vienna might be
amalgamated into an entailed estate to the value of two

(01:10:07):
million florins. He asked that the value of two million
florins should especially considered, as the law did not contemplate
such an arrangement in the case of estates exceeding in
value the maximum amount of four hundred thousand florins, his
Majesty alone having power to authorize any exception to this regulation.
The Emperor referred this petition to the departments for their observation,

(01:10:29):
and important events which occurred shortly afterwards prevented Solomon's request
from being speedily granted. In England two, the position of
the House was unimpaired. Lionel, Nathan's eldest son, was exceptionally
active and industrious. The younger brothers, Anthony and Nathaniel, and
Meyer Nathan became famous sportsmen and owners of race horses.

(01:10:53):
Nathaniel lived in Paris. He was an invalid, but he
took an interest in art and science, and in the
political event vents that were taking place around him. The
third generation of the House was already producing persons that
did not devote themselves to financial work, but attached greater
value to their social position to art and sport. Lionel

(01:11:13):
achieved a particularly honored position in the financial life of
Great Britain when, in March eighteen forty seven he offered
to the English Parliament, which was endeavoring to deal with
the unfortunate condition of Ireland his financial assistance for carrying
the reforms that had been planned for that country. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer actually arranged a loan of eight
million pounds through rothschild and Bearing, a loan which later

(01:11:36):
became famous under the name of the Irish Famine Loan.
Whereas Nathan had always sought to avoid any political dignity
or position under the government, Lionel wanted to get into
the House of Commons. Now, according to established custom, no
Jew could hold civil or military office in England. He
was not elected to Parliament, and he could not vote

(01:11:57):
at elections. The Jews in an England lived in a
kind of political and social ghetto, and nobody accepting the
Rothschilds and a few families who had succeeded in achieving
a very special position, would have thought of attempting to
escape from it. Only the two houses of Parliament would
have been able to make exceptions or alter these conditions. Lionel, however,

(01:12:18):
thought that his house had rendered such considerable services to
England and financial matters that he ought to be able
to get over these difficulties. In August eighteen forty seven,
Lionel Rothschild stood as Liberal candidate for the City of London,
and he was actually elected together with Lord John Russell. Now,
each member of the House of Commons before taking his

(01:12:38):
seat had to take an oath containing the words on
the True Faith of a Christian. Naturally, this oath was
not one that Lionel could take. It was proposed in
the House of Commons that the form of oaths should
be changed, but the upper House rejected this motion. Lionel
therefore could not take his seat. However, he stood again
as a candidate and was always re elected by the city,

(01:13:00):
although he never exercised his functions as a member of
Parliament as in the critical year eighteen thirty so on
the eve of eighteen forty eight, the Rothchilds were engaged
in enormous loan operations. In addition to the Irish famine loan,
they were handling a French three percent loan of two
hundred fifty million francs, which the Rothchilds had underwritten at

(01:13:22):
seventy two point four eight, having, as in the case
of the Austrian loan, taken the precaution of arranging that
it should be paid only in monthly installments. Austria had
also indicated a wish to arrange an issue of certain
bonds which was to be kept most strictly secret, and
which was to be in addition to the ordinary loans,
this issue being required to provide the funds necessary to

(01:13:43):
strengthen the military forces in the Kingdom of Venice and Lombardy,
ominous signs of trouble having appeared there in December eighteen
forty seven. In this connection, Count Cholerat expressed his opinion
generally on the position at the time, showing considerable foresight
with regard to future developments. The money market, he wrote,
is very depressed and there is no reason to hope

(01:14:05):
for any early improvement. Indeed, political developments generally give reason
to fear a turn for the worse. After careful consideration
of the money market, Baron Quebec feels that he can
confidently count on the securities in question, if not wholly
at any rate to a great extent, being kept by
Rothschild in his own safe, and that he will be

(01:14:25):
content with interest at the rate of four percent, a
very moderate rate of interest for commercial capital, especially as
it has to cover all the risks of the present
unsettled conditions. Baron Quebec therefore brings forward the House of
Rothschild's proposal, with the urgent request that your Majesty will
accept it, and that your authorization may be phrased in
such a manner as to permit the matter to be

(01:14:46):
kept strictly secret. The most important consideration lies in the
urgent necessity of giving the financial administration the widest possible
scope in its efforts to extricate itself from the embarrassments
consequent upon heavy and unforeseen military expenditure. The reserve fund
to which I have referred is the last sheet anchor
to which the head of Treasury, who spares himself no efforts,

(01:15:08):
can cling. Unfortunately, when this sum is spent, there will
be nothing left to deal with any new misfortune that
may arise. Yet, states must necessarily reckon with the possibility
of such misfortune, even if they take the form of
events that lie beyond the control of humanity, such as
the death of the head of a state, the outbreak
of an epidemic, the failure of a harvest, et cetera.

(01:15:30):
I feel it to be my duty at the present
moment to put forward these considerations without reserve and as
emphatically as I can, while it is still possible to
place a limit to the excessive military preparations in Italy
and to the expenditure of our last resources, and to
call attention to the fact which will otherwise be made
evident by the complete breakdown of our finances, that the

(01:15:51):
Austrian government has sacrificed too much to its position abroad
and has paid too little heat to conditions at home.
I feel it my duty to make the grave statement
that we are on the verge of an abyss, and
the increasing demands on the treasury, arising out of the
measures necessary to combat foreign revolutionary elements, have led to
increased disturbances within the country, as is indicated by the

(01:16:13):
attitude of the provincial estates and by the literary outbursts
in the press of our neighbors. Baron Quebec's proposal cannot
well sustain criticism of a strictly economic kind. According to
his own account, it has arisen out of the hard
necessities of the case, and it only remains for me
to add that Roth's child's offer seems to me to
be a fairly reasonable one. Although today the eighteenth of February,

(01:16:36):
for percent bonds were sold on the course at ninety
three percent. Baron Rothschild himself makes the condition that the
arrangement shall be kept secret, although of course this is
even more important for the financial administration, which must avoid
anything that might arouse any uneasiness with regard to Austria's credit.
Colerat's remarks were certainly justified. There was marked dissatisfaction in

(01:16:59):
the country with the regime of the aged Chancellor Metternich,
who was now in his seventy seventh year, and with
his paladins, especially the inexorable Minister of Police, Count Sedelenitsky
in Italy. The measures directed against the movements towards national
unity were particularly oppressive, and Medinich's influence made itself felt
with a special severity, so that the other blessings conferred

(01:17:20):
by the Austrian government on the Kingdom of Venice and
Lombardy were entirely forgotten. During the middle forties, further troubles
had broken out in the neighboring country of Switzerland, where
the population had divided into two camps of radicals and conservatives.
The seven Catholic Cantons had united to form a separate
federation and had declared open hostilities upon the Radicals. In

(01:17:43):
November eighteen forty seven, the Moderates were forced to retire
by the Federal Army. Austria, France, and Prussia, whose sympathies
were naturally with the Conservative Federation, regarded the events in
Switzerland as a personal defeat. Medinich considered that what had
happened constituted a direct menace to Austria's position in Lombardy.

(01:18:04):
Solomon Rothschild, too, who followed the Chancellor's policy through thick
and thin, was deeply affected by these events. He hastened
to Mederinick in consternation on November twentieth, eighteen forty seven,
to ask for information regarding the general position of affairs.
Medinich briefly outlined the situation and then asked Solomon whether
he believed that it would be better for the Emperor

(01:18:25):
to sacrifice his Italian states to the revolution and concentrate
his forces on this side of the Alps, or whether
he should assert his position in the Kingdom of Venice
and Lombardy. Not that, exclaimed Rothchild. In that case all
would be lost. That is also my view, Medinich replied,
and that must be the view of all sensible people

(01:18:47):
between thought and action. However, there is a great difference. Action, however,
called for means to action, and the means had to
be estimated. Medinich went on to say to Rothschild that
he would suggest as to the Emperor that he should
command reinforcements for the Italian Army. This would require money,
and it was essential that the money should be raised

(01:19:08):
without disturbing the regular course of the state's finances. They
had just got over one crisis successfully. A further crisis
would be very dangerous and must at all costs be avoided.
The Chancellor declared that an exceptional situation required exceptional methods
for dealing with it, and asked Solomon whether such exceptional
assistance would be forthcoming. As much as you want, Solomon

(01:19:31):
promptly replied, is at your service, and it shall not
damage your credit. Indeed it shall improve it. Tell me
what you want and I'll pay it over at once.
Mettinich replied that he did not want anything. If the
head of the treasury needed money, he would know where
to go for it. All that he needed was to
know that if Baron Quebec should need to get money

(01:19:53):
without upsetting his plans. He could come to Rothchild for it.
Beyond this, the matter did not cat concern him as
much as Baron Quebec wants. Rothschild exclaimed, I will go
to him at once, and he can leave the money
market to me. I have just sent prices up, and
do you know how I sent them up two percent

(01:20:15):
by buying metalliks on the burse to the amount of
thirty million florins. I forbid you. Metternich concluded, to make
any proposal to Baron Quebec. If he needs you, he
will be able to apply to you. And if he
does apply to you, do what he tells you. The
Bourse was keenly sensitive to the situation. Unrest was in

(01:20:35):
the air, and waves of excitement passed over Italy, in
which country the series of the eighteen eighteen revolutions began
with a rising in Sicily in January of that year.
The Vienna Borse reacted with extreme nervousness to this new
s and the liberals of all countries assiduously exaggerated the
bad state of the public finances in that empire, which

(01:20:55):
was regarded as the stronghold of reaction. The populace were
already beginning to go to the banks in order to
change their paper into coin, and Medinich became seriously concerned.
He was not dissatisfied with the general situation in the
second half of January eighteen forty eight, for Milan was
still completely tranquil, though anxious about the financial position. When

(01:21:17):
Solomon visited the Chancellor on the January twenty third, the latter,
as he himself says, spoke to him very seriously and
took a very firm line politically. He said to Solomon,
things are going well, but the boors is in a
bad way. I am doing my duty, but you are
not doing yours. If the devil fetches me, he will

(01:21:38):
fetch you too. I am looking hell in the face.
You are sleeping instead of fighting. Your faith is therefore
sealed to this attack. Rothchild replied with the most passionate apologies,
and said, I shall by tomorrow. I have already settled
that with Baron quebec He and you may count on me.
I Medinich replied, judge by actions, you may by tomorrow,

(01:22:01):
but I shall not know why you did not buy yesterday,
if it was in order to buy more cheaply. I
have no occasion to be grateful to you. This conversation
shows particularly clearly how closely Metternich and Solomon were bound
together for weal or woe. The critical events of the
year eighteen forty eight were to furnish remarkable proof of
this fact. The revolution in Sicily rapidly extended to Naples,

(01:22:26):
where Karl Rothschild was staying, but as the Liberal ministry
in power their made concessions, it did not assume dangerous
proportions there. The Grand Duke of Tuscany and King Carl
Albert of Piedmont, whose dearest dream it was to unite
Italy under one scepter, followed this example. The sparks of
these troubles were carried from the Apennine Peninsula to France,

(01:22:48):
where they started a gigantic conflagration, the flames of which
were to spread over the whole of Europe. Louis Philippe's
rule had become more and more oppressive. He had ended
by refusing essential reforms, with the result that a powerful
opposition was formed in the capital against Guiseau's ministry. The
first disturbances that brought out the workmen and students occurred

(01:23:08):
on the February twenty second, eighteen forty eight, as even
the National Guard wished the ministry to be dismissed. The King,
who had become uneasy, accepted the resignation of Guizau. The
troops that had been called up came into conflict with
the rebels, and the first shots produced terrible excitement. On
the February twenty fourth, barricades were erected in all the

(01:23:30):
main streets of the city. The National Guard and mine
regiments went over to the rebels, and it was soon
obvious that things stood very ill with the King's cause.
Louis Philippe was becoming an old man in his seventy
fifth year. He was scarcely equal to dealing with this
sudden and unexpected storm. According to Count Aponia, he showed
a lack of decision at the moment of danger and

(01:23:52):
completely lost his head. As early as the February twenty
fourth he fled, leaving his capital and his country to
the rebels. The dear old Austrian ambassador himself had no
idea of what was really happening. He had sent out
nine hundred invitations to a ball for the February twenty third,
and on that very morning he made inquiries of the
municipal authorities as to whether he should cancel the arrangements.

(01:24:15):
To James Rothschild, who during the last few years had
achieved a position of perfectly unique influence both with the
King and his ministers, this event was like lightning out
of a clear sky. He could not credit the fact
that overnight changes had occurred that suddenly drew away from
under his feet the whole basis upon which his business
and his house rested. The banker, who had been perhaps

(01:24:37):
more intimately associated with the regime that had been overthrown
than anybody else, was bound to feel that in the
way things were shaping, his position was exceedingly dangerous. His
first thought was to quit Paris, and prosper Meniere tells
us that he was actually seen at the Nord station
on the point of taking a train to the frontier.
At the last moment, however, he appears to have been

(01:24:59):
advised not to leave Paris, as this would permanently undermine
his position and his honor. He therefore remained while his
wife and daughter, in a state of great panic and excitement,
fled to their relations in London, Arriving at Lionel's house,
unexpected and unannounced. With the terror of their experiences still
vivid in their minds, they gave a heart trending account

(01:25:21):
of how they had suddenly fallen from the heights of
human happiness into the depths of woe and horror. James
Rothschild's principal reason for deciding to remain in the capital
was that Lamartine and Arrago had gone to the Jewish
banker Michel Goudhouse, who was also financial editor of the
opposition paper, The National, and had asked him to take
the portfolio for finance. Michel Goudhouse, who was a friend

(01:25:44):
of Rothschild, agreed, and this so far calmed James that
he decided to remain in Paris. Meanwhile, Cossadier, the new
Prefect of Police, who had been thrown out by the revolution,
having been a journalist on law reform and having fought
on the barricades, heard that Rothchael Child was meditating flight.
Now the new provisional government had an interest in trying

(01:26:05):
to prevent the great financiers and bankers from leaving the city.
Like the kings before them, they needed money and the
services of financiers. It was also generally said in Paris
that Rothschild was smuggling his bullion out of the country
in Dunkart's, intending afterwards to go formally bankrupt. Cassadierre accordingly
had James watched by a detective, and when the rumors

(01:26:27):
regarding his intended flight grew more persistent, he ordered the
banquette to appear at the Prefecture of Police. James was
then informed why he had been placed under surveillance, and
was told that he was suspected of intending flight. James replied, Sir,
I am believed to be buried in gold, whereas in
point of fact, I have nothing but paper. My wealth

(01:26:49):
and capital consist of securities which at this moment are
of no value. I have no intention of going bankrupt,
and if I must die, I shall resign myself, but
I would regard flight cowardly. I have ridden to my
family to send me cash so that I may meet
my obligations. Tomorrow I shall introduce my nephew to you,
who has just come from London for this purpose. Casadier

(01:27:13):
replied that he was happy to be able to assist
in reassuring Rothschild's family, and he assured him that he
had nothing to fear from the people of Paris. They
were poor, but they were honest, and even if the
workman's blouse was sometimes worn by criminals, the new government
would know how to deal with such people. While talking,
as Cassadier observes in his memoirs, he then asked Rothschild

(01:27:35):
for a loan to be applied, as he said, to
printing works and other institutions. On the following day, James
Rothschild again appeared at the prefecture, bringing with him his
nephew who had arrived from England, and he deposited a
sum of money which was divided between the families of
the February combatants who have protected the prefecture without receiving
any regular pay. James left in a very much calmer

(01:27:58):
state of mind and hoping to be able successfully to
get through this difficult period too. The general financial situation
was certainly desperate, As had been the case in eighteen thirty,
the house of Rothschild was saddled with an enormous number
of loan securities of every kind. The two hundred and
fifty million franc loan in respect of which the Rothschilds

(01:28:20):
had made a preliminary payment of eighty two million francs
had to be given up in view of recent events.
At the sacrifice of the guarantee sum, James declared that
the revolution constituted force measure, relieving him of the obligation
to find the remaining one hundred and sixty eight million francs.
Rothschild also held an enormous quantity of Nord Railway shares, which,

(01:28:41):
owing to the panic on the Bourse, had fallen enormously,
like all the other securities. In spite of the extensive
support given by the London House, which was entirely unaffected
by these events, James had to make the most prodigious
efforts in order to meet his most pressing obligations, being
forced to sell large holdings of three percent wrought at
the ridiculous price of thirty eight francs. And there was

(01:29:03):
worse to come. The republic was proclaimed, and the destruction
wrought in artilleries and the Palais Royal, which the mob plundered,
throwing the most valuable furniture into the streets where it
was burnt, gave reason to fear that further outrages would occur.
The National Guard and other troops succeeded with difficulty in
restoring order in the center of the town, whereupon the

(01:29:24):
ravel proceeded to attack the unprotected buildings in the outskirts.
The mob's rage now vented itself upon all railway works
such as stations, bridges, et cetera, these being completely destroyed
and burnt down within a radius of thirty miles of Paris.
The people regarded these structures as a means by which
they were speculatively exploited. Coachmen and such persons as feared

(01:29:48):
the competition of the railways played a prominent part in
these episodes. On this occasion, the royal castle at Nerye
was also destroyed, and the Rothschild Villa at Shoe Reasons
was completely looted and then set on fire. The revolutionary
Prefect of Police had promised more than he could do
with regard to James Rothschild, Count a Ponia, was quite

(01:30:10):
unable to recover his equanimity. On March tenth, when comparative
quiet had supervened, he wrote, we still feel that we
are dreaming. It is impossible to believe in the reality
of what has been going on around us. There is
no question of any lack of foresight or of a
concerted attack or of a carefully prepared conspiracy. There has

(01:30:31):
been nothing of the kind, a sudden thunderclap, a tempest
in which everything has been torn down. It is providence
God has willed it. So James did not get off
at all cheaply. Cassadier had taken money from him, and
shoe reasons was destroyed. While his hopes of the Jewish
finance minister gaug Show were to prove vain. Ledger Roland,

(01:30:54):
Minister of the Interior in the provisional government, who was
setting up national workshops, kept sending in fresh demands for
money to the finance minister under every conceivable pretext, until
the latter resigned in disgust after holding office for a
few days. According to the statements of a Russian secret
agent who was an eye witness of the revolution in Paris, Ledgerolan,

(01:31:15):
firmly determined to stop at nothing in order to get money,
went to James Rothschild. He told the banker that if
he did not give him two hundred and fifty thousand
francs required for patriotic purposes, he would send ten thousand
workmen into the rule of Fit the next day to
destroy the Palais, Rothschild and Lake vengeance on him. James
is stated in his Panic to have paid the money,

(01:31:36):
which was thus practically extorted at the point of the pistol.
The Russian related that a few days later Ledgerolan repeated
the experiment and succeeded, under further threats, in extorting an
additional five hundred thousand francs. Whatever may be the actual
truth of this story, there is no doubt that James
had to pay heavily in order to secure his personal safety.

(01:31:57):
The revolution soon effected the whole of Europe. With the
fall of Louis Philippe, the Rothschilds had lost one of
the most essential supports on which their power in Europe
was based. Their Paris House, which had lately been so
flourishing and powerful, overshadowing all the others, had overnight been
plunged into the most serious embarrassments. It had to proceed

(01:32:18):
to reconstruct its position from the start with the new powers,
making use of such connections as it might already have
formed with any of those who had now seized power.
It was only a matter of days, however, before a
still more powerful and important support of the Gigantic structure
erected by the Five Brothers gave way. The news from
Paris produced the greatest consternation in the Austrian Empire. Mettonik

(01:32:42):
received the first news of Guiseau's fall from Solomon Rothschild,
who had a telegram from his brother. He would not
believe it, and when shortly afterwards the Russian Charged affair
called and confirmed it, he exclaimed in dismay, Hey man,
my dear, everything is finished. He still hoped that the
monarchy would survive. But when he received from Solomon the

(01:33:03):
further dismal news that the republic had been proclaimed in France,
the aged Chancellor is said to have collapsed in his
arm chair in despair. The populace in Vienna and Austria
generally became wildly excited. The imperial government was inundated on
all sides, with petitions, programs of reform, and urgent appeals
of every kind. There were instances of paper money not

(01:33:25):
being accepted. Trade and industry were at a standstill, and
everybody had the feeling that a terrible storm was about
to burst. Nothing had as yet occurred. When news was
received abroad that Prince Mederinich had retired it is interesting
to note that it was some members of the Rothschild
family who spread the news at a reception given by
Lady Palmerston on March fourth, eighteen forty eight, that they

(01:33:48):
had heard from Vienna that Prince Mederinich had made up
his mind to resign his office. The Austrian representative, who
was present, was overwhelmed with questions, but he gave it
as his opinion that it was a mere stock exchange maneuver. Yet,
when the charged d affairs report on this incident arrived
at Vienna, Medinich had actually ceased to be Chancellor. The

(01:34:09):
estates were to meet on Monday, March thirteenth. The wording
of a petition was being discussed when a deputation of
students rushed in, tore it up and announced the extensive
wishes of the people. Groups collected in the streets, where
orators harangued them down with Metternich was the universal cry.
A crowd of people passes before the Chancellor's office, shouting

(01:34:32):
that the Prince must be dismissed. Stones are thrown at
the Archduke Albrecht. The military open fire, The first victims fall.
The excitement spreads more and more barricades are put up
close to the Rothschild's house, which is not far from
the arsenal. Solomon anxiously watches the growing disturbances from the

(01:34:53):
windows of his house. The citizen guard sound the alarm
and fly to arms. The excesses of the populace in
the street's increase. In the palace there is anxious indecision.
The Emperor Ferdinand cannot understand what is happening. The cautious
Archduke John alone keeps his head. He realizes that Metternich

(01:35:14):
must be urged to resign, and undertakes this hard duty.
The Chancellor resigns at half past eight on the evening
of the March thirteenth. Houses are lit up. Here there
are festival illuminations, while others are fighting on the barricades.
Here men are being shot down and their people are
rejoicing over the proclamation of the freedom of the press.

(01:35:36):
At six o'clock in the evening of the March fourteenth,
Prince Mednich and his family fled from the city. Solomon
Rothschild had not ventured to leave his house. A messenger
from Medinich called on his loyal friend and banker to
inform him of Medinich's decision to leave Austria, but as
was generally the case, Medinich was short of ready money.

(01:35:58):
Another man would have used his boundary power and his
autocratic control, which extended also to the state's finances, to
his own advantage, so that he would not have been
forced to borrow his journey money. Now that he was
forced to flee, Rothschild was glad to do the fallen
statesman a friendly turn and sent him a thousand ducats
through the architect Romano. As soon as he received the money,

(01:36:20):
the man who a few hours before had been the
most powerful person in the Imperial Dominion, left the city
in disguise, carrying money for his journey and a Rothschild
letter of credit. Things had already gone so far that
on his journey through Germany, Mettinich was forced, for the
sake of his personal safety, to disguise his identity as
far as possible. On March twentieth, for instance, there was

(01:36:42):
a rumor in Frankfort that the Chancellor had arrived and
was staying at the house of the Austrian general, Count Nobili.
Thousands of people immediately collected outside the general's house, shouting
per Ike. Metternich. The General came boldly to the window,
announced that the Prince was not staying with him, and
then drove quite alone at a walking pace, through the
crowds to a reception at Baron amskill and Rothschild's. The

(01:37:06):
crowd then went to the Hotel Zoom Romish Kaiser, where
similar scenes were enacted. When they had convinced themselves that
Metternich was not there either, they proceeded to the house
of the aged Baron amskill Meyer Rothschild, who lived close
by and demanded money. Amshkill Meyer, however, was not at home,
and the crowd dispersed. Solomon Rothschild had remained at Vienna,

(01:37:30):
where after the exciting days of the thirteenth and March fourteenth,
things had somewhat quietened down. But Solomon was terribly upset
by these events. Apart from being so intimately connected with
him in all the affairs of life, his personal friendship
with Metternich had been so close that he felt not
only the threat to the welfare of his house, but
perhaps still more keenly, the hurt to his personal feelings.

(01:37:53):
Melancholy and disheartened, he decided to wait awhile and see
how matters would develop. Meanwhile, the revolution lutionary movement spread
throughout the capitals of Europe. On March eighteenth, there was
a rising in Berlin. There was street fighting, barricades, and
general panic. When the news of these happenings reached Frankfort,

(01:38:13):
where there had also been unrest, and where demands for
equal citizenship without distinction of creed had been put forward,
the mobs smashed the windows of the Prussian Minister and
of Old Amskill Meyer Rothschild, as the consul general of
the King of Prussia, who had had his people shot down.
Amskill Meyer Rothschild was therefore also at the center of
a danger zone and at a place of considerable political

(01:38:36):
importance for the forerunner of the National Assembly, which was
to provide a new unifying central authority for the whole
of Germany, met at Frankfort. This fact necessarily suggested all
kinds of possibilities to the official banker of the German Federation,
if the new authorities were cleverly handled, and if the
game were not spoilt with them at the start, Nathan's

(01:38:56):
sons in England and the fortunate country where they were
living were alone spared the revolutions and the confusion that
followed upon them. They were affected only indirectly by the
general collapse of the burses, and were therefore able to
render most effective assistance to the Rothschild firms that were
threatened on the continent. Carl Rothschild at Naples was at
the center of the revolutionary disturbances that had overwhelmed Italy.

(01:39:20):
He had some time previously done his best to sever
those intimate links with Austria through which he had actually
come to Naples, but he had clung to his association
with the conservative Kingdom of Naples, and accordingly suffered from
the difficulties which the revolution caused to that kingdom. In
the north of Italy, Venice revolted against the Dominion of
Austria directly after the revolution in Vienna, with the result

(01:39:42):
that the Austrian officials resigned and a republic was proclaimed.
This was a serious blow to Solomon Rothchild, who had
so recently concluded an important agreement for salt works with
that city. Lombardy also revolted, a fact which made Solomon
seriously anxious about the capital, amounting to forete one hundred
thousand florins, which he had invested in Venice in full

(01:40:03):
confidence that Lombardy would continue under Austrian dominion. The Rothchild
undertakings were threatened throughout the length and breadth of the monarchy,
and Solomon applied his efforts to saving what could be saved.
He therefore begged the Minister for Foreign Affairs, on June fifteenth,
eighteen forty eight, in view of the rumor that there
was every prospect of Lombardy being pacified within a short time,

(01:40:25):
to see that he did not suffer loss. Having regard
to Austria's well known care for the interests of her
subjects and of important industrial undertakings. He was reassured and
given all kinds of promises, But the authorities had other
things to attend to. Then Solomon's business and Metanik's absence
made itself noticeably felt as at the most critical moments

(01:40:45):
he had always had time for Solomon and considered his
wishes and suggestions. Solomon became painfully aware of the fundamental
change in his position, which had been so dependent upon
his excellent relations with the Mighty at Vienna. He had suffered,
in fact, just as his brother James had suffered in Paris.
The latter had now no easy task. The terrible collapse

(01:41:08):
o February had eliminated the king who was so friendly
to him, and the ministers with whom he was on
such good terms. Other friends too had left the capital,
including the Austrian ambassador, Count of PONII, with his half
million florins of debts, and Hubner, the provisional substitute who
temporarily occupied his position, was far from congenial to James.

(01:41:32):
His was a reserved and unfriendly nature. He had pronounced
antisemitic tendencies and was not at all inclined to accord
Rothschild that position with regard to the Austrian embassy that
he had enjoyed in the time of A. PONII. It
is true that amongst new persons in authority, James found
a few friends of former days, and as he knew
how to adapt himself to the new regime, and in

(01:41:53):
spite of his fundamentally Orlianist sympathies, he carefully refrained from
provoking it in any way. His opportunist nature provided occasion
for arriving at a conciliatory understanding. Meanwhile, Solomon in Austria
had again been experiencing disturbances. The Empire was in sad
straits in Hungary and Italy in Bohemia, and in the

(01:42:15):
capital rebellion was in the air. The defeat of the
army of Carl Albert, King of Sardinia on July twenty
fifth at Castatza by the aged Field Marshal Count Ridetski
relieved the situation. Italy's hope during these times of stress
was that France would intervene and that Sardinia would assist
her against Austria. There was considerable fear at Vienna lest

(01:42:38):
Republican France should take such a step, and the Austrian
temporary Charged Affair Tom, who had served under a pony
I and held office until Hubner's arrival, and who knew
James Rothschild well, was instructed to report on France's attitude.
The foreign embassies, particularly those of the Conservative powers, had however,
practically no influence in Paris at this time, and they

(01:43:00):
got no news. James, on the other hand, was already
on such good terms with the new finance minister, Gameier
Pages that he frequently went to see him, and was
then able to report to Tom that the minister had
told him that the government had no intention whatever of
intervening in Italy, and that he himself would do everything
possible to prevent such a step from being taken. In

(01:43:22):
this matter, Rothschild continued to be Tom's source of information.
James Rothschild's position in Paris became somewhat more secure, but
there was no prospect of a return of political tranquility.
The radicals and socialists had established the so called National Workshops,
in which politics were much more popular than work, and
which soon became an intolerable financial burden as well as

(01:43:45):
a political danger. Serious disturbances again broke out on the
government's attempting to resign. After three days street fighting. In June,
the energetic war minister Eugene Cavagnac, who was sincerely attached
to the Republican cause, in urged victorious. He assumed the
position of a dictator and was nominated President of the

(01:44:05):
Council of Ministers by the National Assembly. James had been
on excellent terms with him of old, and be succeeded
at the expense of considerable sums of money, in making
himself useful to the general and to the Republican cause,
so that he was soon as good a republican as
he had been a monarchist. James's skill in adjusting himself
to any conceivable circumstances impressed even the extreme left, and

(01:44:29):
several attempts were made to claim him for the ends
of the Worker's Party. You are a wonder, sir, wrote
the editor of the ultra radical Tocsin the irrevailers. In
spite of his legal majority, Lewis Philippe has fallen, Guiseau
has disappeared. The constitutional monarchy and parliamentary methods have gone
by the board. You, however, are unmoved. Where are Orago

(01:44:50):
and Lomartine? They are finished, but you have survived. The
banking princes are going into liquidation and their offices are closed.
The great captains of industry and the railway companies totter shareholders, merchants,
manufacturers and bankers are ruined. En mass big men and
little men are alike overwhelmed. You, alone, amongst all these ruins,

(01:45:14):
remain unaffected. Although your house felt the first violence of
the shock in Paris, although the effects of revolution pursue
you from Naples to Vienna and Berlin, you remain unmoved.
In the face of a movement that has affected the
whole of Europe. Wealth fades away, glory is humbled, and
dominion is broken. But the jew, the monarch of our time,

(01:45:34):
has held his throne. But that is not all. You
might have fled from this country, where in the language
of your Bible the mountain's skip about like rams. You remain,
announcing that your power is independent of the ancient dynasties,
and you courageously extend your hand to the young republics
undismayed you adhere to France. You are more than a statesman.

(01:45:56):
You are the symbol of credit. Is it not time
that the that powerful instrument of the middle classes should
assist in the fulfillment of the people's destinies without becoming
a minister. You remain simply the great man of business
of our time. Your work might be more extensive. Your fame,
and you are not indifferent to fame, might be even

(01:46:17):
more glorious. After gaining the crown of money, you would
achieve the apotheosis. Does that not appeal to you? Confess
that it would be a worthy occasion if one day
the French Republic should offer you a place in the pantheon.
James had therefore succeeded in gaining to a large extent
the respect of the circles of the extreme left. Moreover,

(01:46:39):
Kavegnac had recalled from Algier's general Theodore Chain Garnier, who
was an old friend of the House of Rothschild, and
appointed him commander in chief of the whole National Guard,
who were responsible for maintaining the safety of the capital.
He was not so wholehearted a Republican as Cavagnac, and
swayed between Orleanists and a party which was intended to
combine legitimists and Orleanists, his main aim being to secure

(01:47:02):
a prominent position for himself. Rothschild was therefore in a
position to carry uncomfortably either with the Republic or with
the restored monarchy. But what actually happened was something quite different.
On receiving news of the outbreak of the Revolution of
February twenty eighth, Lewis Napoleon had hurried to Paris to
place himself under the flag of the Republic, but later

(01:47:24):
on he had returned to London without offering himself as
a candidate for the suffrages of the National Assembly. At
the final elections in September, however, the Prince was elected
in three departments, and also in Corsica. His name was
a program in itself in the general confusion. His name,
with its associations with the most splendid period of French history.

(01:47:46):
Waterloo had been forgotten, gave hope. For thousands and tens
of thousands. The name of Napoleon was the symbol of strength, splendor, order, authority,
n goar. After the June fighting, considerable sections of the
popular became influenced politically by the sentiments of the right.
There was a keen desire for peace and order, and

(01:48:06):
suddenly the immortal name of Napoleon became the idol of
the people. James had watched this development with mixed feelings.
He remembered the part he and his brother had played
under Napoleon the First and he could not but reflect
that the Great Man's nephew knew perfectly well how the
Frankfort Jews had shown the game they were playing after
the fall of the Emperor, and had gone with flying

(01:48:27):
colors into the camp of the victors and of the
returning Bourbons, thereafter pursuing their business happily and magnificently under
high protection. While the Great Emperor was pining away at
Saint Helena Lewis. Napoleon would not have been a man.
He would certainly not have been a Napoleon it had
he not wished to take just vengeance on those men
or their descendants. At any rate, he could not be

(01:48:48):
expected to show them any marked friendliness. James had left
Paris immediately after Napoleon's election to the National Assembly, and
just at this time General Kavagnac was discussing how true
Republic should meet the new danger which had arisen in
the person of Napoleon. James had arrived in Brussels, which
he was visiting on matters of business, in a state

(01:49:08):
of great anxiety. He discussed the position with the Austrian minister,
Count Woyna, who wrote home reporting that, having lent such
considerable sums to the Republic, Baron Rothschild was as republican
as he had been monarchist. At the present moment, the
Count reported, decent people in France see their only hope
of salvation in freely and unreservedly supporting the present head

(01:49:31):
of the government, Cavagnac. He alone, practically in the whole
of France, treats the affairs of the Republic seriously and
conscientiously as far as Palmerston is concerned. The minister continued,
the clever banker does not understand, however republican he may say,
he is at the moment, that he is really as
blind as all that he said to me, that in

(01:49:52):
the present state of mind of France, with Bonapartism making
progress on all sides, if England does not prevent France
from possible intervention in Italy, on war being actually declared,
Louis Napoleon will forthwith be carried shoulder high. Then Italy
would also be drawn into the war, and the first
measure both of Republican and imperial Bonapartists, will be again

(01:50:12):
to declare the continental blockade against England. James Rothschild next
called on the King of the Belgians, Louis Philippe, as
son in law, who also looked askance at Leuis Napoleon's
rise when the revolution broke out in Paris. King Leopold
had thought for a time that he might incur a
similar fate to that of his father in law and
be compelled to leave the country. In order therefore to

(01:50:36):
be secure against all eventualities, he had remitted a sum
of five million francs to the House of Rothchild, which
was to be placed at his disposal if he were
actually compelled to leave the country. It was on this
matter that James had gone to Brussels. When the country
settled down and matters did not happen as was feared,
the King left this sum with the House of Rothschild,

(01:50:57):
and in the course of years, at compound interest, it
increased by eighteen sixty six to the prodigious sum of
twenty million francs, which formed the basis of the enormous
inheritance which was to come to the unfortunate Empress Charlotte
of Mexico. James returned from Brussels to Paris to plunge
again courageously into the source of all the troubles that
are making Europe unhappy. As Count one is stated, he

(01:51:20):
was greatly dismayed to see that his friends, the Dictator
Cavanac and General Changarnier were losing more and more ground
to Lewis Napoleon. At the beginning of November eighteen forty eight,
the situation in Paris was again exceedingly strained, and, as
her Vaughan Tom reported, the general opinion in Paris was
that another big revolution was imminent, fear and unrest. The

(01:51:42):
charged affair reported our general business and economic interests are
suffering acutely. The slump insecurities has assumed alarming proportions, and
yesterday there was actually a rumor to the effect that
the House of Rothschild was going into liquidation. Things were
not nearly as bad as all that, but it made
Rothschild exceedingly uneasy to see how the cause of Prince

(01:52:04):
Louis Napoleon was advancing with enormous strides throughout the country.
He was bitterly dismayed to receive the news on December
tenth that Louis Napoleon had been elected President of the
Republic by a vote of five and a half millions,
whereas Kavanak had pulled only one and a half million
and chain Garnier only fifty thousand votes. He decided to
make the best of the situation and to use great

(01:52:26):
restraint and caution in expressing any political opinions. Louis Napoleon's
position was not by any means secure yet, but he
had made considerable progress in that direction. While the Paris
House was gravely concerned with regard to its future and
the future of the country in which it was established.
Affairs in l the Austrian Empire were becoming more and

(01:52:47):
more chaotic. Whilst Austria had been victorious in Italy, Hungary
was now in complete revolt, and Cassuth was speaking to
his countrymen who were drunk with nationalist ideas of the
complete independence and liberty of Hungary. Most of the troops
had left Vienna for Italy and Hungary, only a weak
garrison being left behind in the capitol itself. Instigated by Hungary,

(01:53:10):
the Democrats in Vienna exploited these conditions to make another
bloody rising on October sixth, eighteen forty eight. Other troops
and men of the National Guard who did not wish
to go to Hungry mutinied and joiner the rebels. The
shouting mob, drunk with victory, proceeded to the War Office
building where the ministry was meeting, and threatened to lynch

(01:53:33):
the ministers. They, however, all escaped, with the exception of
the unfortunate war minister, Count Leteur, who was cruelly murdered,
his corpse being hung stark naked to a lamp post,
where the mob continued to insult and beat it. After
this murdered, the crowd, which was quite out of hand,
proceeded to the Arsenal, where h is now the CenTra

(01:53:54):
Lera a station, and which then had its frontage on
the Whiplingerstrass and Rengase, being there for quite close to
the Rothchild house. At seven o'clock in the evening, they
began to lay siege to it. The mob ransacked and
occupied the Windshgrach's palace and the Rothschild's house in the Rengase.
From the roof of the latter, they shot at the

(01:54:15):
Grenadier's quarters inside the Arsenal. This fighting went on throughout
the night, the Arsenal being handed over on the following
day to a commission appointed by the Reichstag. The whole
of Vienna was in a panic. The court left the
residence and fled to Almuts. The further disturbances had surprised
Solomon Rothschild in his house in the w Rengase, and

(01:54:36):
he fled. He now sorrowfully recalled Medinich's words, if the
devil fetches me, he will fetch you too. During the
last few months he had imagined that the Chancellor would
prove mistaken for Medinich had fallen and he had remained. Now, however,
that his own house had been looted and had been
made a base of operations for an attack on the

(01:54:57):
Arsenal close by, he felt completely broken down and desired
only one thing to get away from Vienna. He first
proceeded to conceal himself in the neighborhood of Vienna until
he should have brought his secretary Goldschmidt, his family and
the most important papers and moneys into a place of safety.
The Goldschmidts had fled by boat to Stein near KREM's,

(01:55:18):
but the father of the family returned to Vienna so
as to be able to help if Solomon Rothschild needed
him on the journey, and to assist in getting the
money and securities away. But it was no longer so
simple to enter Vienna without being attacked. Goldschmidt hit upon
the idea of hiring a small cart and milk cans
from his landlord at Doblane, who had a dairy, and

(01:55:39):
entered the town disguised as a milkman. He was closely
examined at the nest door for liney and at the shottender,
but he managed to reach Rothschild's office safely, where he
found almost everything intact and huge, well locked and hidden coffers.
Rothschild's books, his cash and securities were packed up in
a moment and sent to the National Bank, where they

(01:56:01):
were taken over and brought into security. This was on
October tenth, eighteen forty eight. Goldschmidt had not met Solomon again.
The baron had availed himself of an opportunity of traveling
to frankfort On, Maine. He was never to see Vienna again.

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REIGN OF ROTHSCHILDS - 6. Rothschilds Before and During the Revolution of 1848: Finance and Politics in the 1848 Crisis

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}REIGN OF ROTHSCHILDS - 6. Rothschilds Before and During the Revolution of 1848: Finance and Politics in the 1848 Crisis